General questions
When will the study start? We have successfully completed a pilot study with 10 care homes. We are currently running the trial in a further 35 care homes in Winter 2 and, we will be starting the final winter in September 2023 to finish in May 2024.
How long will we take part for? Each care home will actively take part from September to May.
How will I know which group my care home is in? Once your care home has been formally set up and we have collected some information about your care home, we will randomly assign to you the ‘usual care’ group or the ‘air filter’ group
Can I expect lots of visitors throughout the course of the study? No. All of the support that we provide can be done remotely and this will be discussed with you should your care home take part. We have also given a lot of thought into making the study simple and time-efficient.
Can I contact someone if I have any problems or questions? Yes. We would encourage you to contact us if you run into issues with the air filters or indeed, any part of the study. Our contact details can be found under the contact section of this website or on study documentation.
How will I find out of the results of the study? When the study has been completed and the results have been fully analysed, the study will be written up and published, this information will be shared with you.
How long will it take to complete the Daily Data Collection each day? We estimate that it should take you less than 2 minutes per resident per day.
A lot of residents do not have capacity. Can they still take part? Yes, we would like everyone to have the opportunity to take part in this research. Residents without capacity would require a “Personal Consultee” which can be either a relative or a friend, or a “Nominated Consultee”, who would consent on their behalf.
What other data do we need to collect? We would like to collect data on staff absences; an updated resident registry of all residents in your home and we also ask staff to complete an optional short questionnaire.
Air filter group questions
Will taking part in this study mean we will have to buy the air filters? No. We, the University of Bristol, will purchase the air filters and organise the delivery of them to your care home.
Where is the best place to position our air filters? We will help you to find the best location for your air filter. This will be done by doing a virtual walk around with a member of the research team in advance of your air filters arriving.
Are the air filters easy to set up? Yes. The air filter will need to be taken out of its packaging, the internal filter will need to be inserted and the unit will need to be plugged into a wall socket. We will provide instructions on how to set up the air filters.
Are the air filters easy to maintain? Yes. Care homes will be advised to:
- When the red brush indicator light is ON (red) clean the ‘internal filter’ using a vacuum cleaner
- When necessary (such as one a week) wipe the outside of the filter device with a dry cloth (or damp cloth for the fabric section).
What do the air filters look like? How big are they? The picture below shows a communal room filter on the left (dimensions are L 290 mm x W x 290 mm x H 645 mm) and a private room filter on the right (dimensions are L 274 mm x W x 274 mm x H 585 mm) with Bramble the spaniel in the middle and a standard-sized toilet roll for scale.
What happens to the air filters at the end of the study? You are welcome to keep the devices after the study has ended. We would like to remove the internal filter for further research.